Noelle Kocot is the pen name of Noelle Kocot-Tomblin. I have 2 books out by Four Way Books called 4 and The Raving Fortune, and two books forthcoming called Poem for the End of Time and Other Poems and Home of the Cubit Idea, also from Four Way. In 1997, I received the S.J. Marks Memorial Award from The American Poetry Review, and in 2001 I received grants from The National Endowment for the Arts and The Fund for Poetry. I live in Brooklyn. Buy her books here. See some work here, here, here and here. 1. What is the first poem you ever loved? Why? "Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a thief. Taffy came to my house and stole a side of beef." Because of the sound. 2. What is something/someone non-“literary” you read which may surprise your peers/colleagues? Why do you read it/them? God, I don't know if I'm capable of surprising any of my colleagues anymore, certainly not with my reading. If I were to say something though, I'd have to say The New York Post. I like it better than the Times with its passive-voice and non-responsible take on issues of foreign policy. It's also just funny. 3. How important is philosophy to your writing? Why? Philosophy and theology are very important to my writing because it's what makes my world go 'round. Literature is secondary at this point. 4. Who are some of your favorite non-Anglo-American writers? Why? Haruki Murakami because of his wild imagination and sensibility, Szymborska because of her weird sense of humor, Ahkmatova because of her understanding of the way spirituality works in praxis, all the Biblical prophets because they speak the truth, the list goes on and on. 5. Do you read a lot of poetry? If so, how important is it to your writing? I read a lot of poetry, past tense, for many many years. I put a lot of effort into studying it and memorizing it. Then I got bored with it and now I only thumb through journals or scan my head for something. I read my friends' new work. 6. What is something which your peers/colleagues may assume you’ve read but haven’t? Why haven’t you? Proust. I got all geared up to finally read him when I was 28, like it was going to be this solemn occasion. Something I just hadn't ever read and always wanted to. I got so incredibly bored with the surfaces and flowery language and just gave up. It just did not hold my interest. 7. How would you explain what a poem is to my seven year old? I would say a poem is a reflection of a person's soul in words, as in a mirror. If the person's soul is full of light and God, then the poem will reflect that. If a person's soul is full of malice, then the poem will reflect that. I would say that a poem is inseparable from who a person is and when you write a poem, you're giving a gift to people who will read it and to God. 8. Do you believe in a Role for the Poet? If so, how does it differ from the Role of the Citizen? No, I don't really believe in a Role for a poet anymore. I did when I was younger and all high and mighty, but now I think people just create art out of need, what they need for their evolution as people. 9. Word associations (the first word which comes to mind; be honest): Lemon**drop Chiseled**beard I**love Of**giraffe Form**hell 10. What is the relationship between the text and the body in your writing? I am such a completely non-physical human being. I really am. My husband Damon was the one who was really in his body and he kept me connected to the physical plane. Now that he's gone on, I feel the absence of the physical. I know it will definitely, profoundly affect my work.